My Calling - A Little Different Than A Year Ago

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In January of last year, I met with my church’s SPRC. For those of us who hang around the United Methodist candidacy circles, this is the opening salvo in a long journey towards ordination. It’s a long process and one that I’ve often compared to running for political office - hey, you’re life is just as public when you become a pastor, so the analogy fits I believe.

So, if we continue that analogy onward meeting with your church’s SPRC is like meeting with your family, friends and potential financial supporters to discuss running for political office. You need that inner circle of support before you can consider running for office. Here, you’ve already talked to your friends and family about where you believe God is leading you, so meeting with the SPRC brings the church more into the process.

Last year, the meeting went well. My calling was affirmed, but they wanted me to spend some time to more clearly consider my career as it relates to my vocation. That is where I stand now. Later today, I’ll meet with my pastor to talk about where God has led me in the past few months at Asbury, the struggles, the encouraging times, and talk about where I believe God is calling me today and how it relates to a potential second round visit with SPRC.

I’ve been nervous about this meeting for quite some time, but I’m glad that I’ve had this time to think about where God is leading me. I needed some of the experiences that I’ve had over the past few months and year to fully articulate my calling and where I believe God is leading me.

For instance:

- I needed to leave North Carolina for awhile to realize how much I love it here. I needed to go back to West Virginia to realize how much I didn’t want to go back permanently. To use some words my friend Greg Arthur has said at times, I needed my own wilderness time in Kentucky. (And trust me, there is nothing more wilderness than Wilmore, Ky.)

- I needed to step out and experience ministry out of what it means to do ministry in Chapel Hill, N.C. That meant taking a job as a youth pastor, having the pressure of the numbers game, having kids depend on me, work on programs and discussion topics.

- I needed experiences like being in seminary for a few months and have time to really think about things like the kingdom of God, servanthood, and calling. I needed to hear from professors like Steve Seamands and David Thompson, as well as others.

- And, I needed to find out who I was in Christ’s eyes and where he wants for me.

So what does that all mean?

This.

That I feel that my vocation is to be a listening ear and encourager for Christians. I see a lot of brokenness in the world and in the church  and too often it gets ignored, because we either don’t know how to deal with it or we give lip service from the pulpit hopping that someone will catch on. But, I feel we need to do more. I feel called to preach God’s love to all, to encourage true discipleship and fellowship, and to work towards the brokenness in our families, in our world, and our church.

I’ve experienced this all too well in my life. My life is a case study in broken families. From my family’s divorce struggles to my own divorce and the hurt that came from it, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen the pain it causes. But there is more. I’ve seen the struggles of a mother trying to raise her family alone. I’ve seen the struggles of the poor. The struggles of a son who doesn’t know his father. The abused. The mistreated. And those who think that suicide is the only answer.

I’ve seen it because I’ve been there. And I honestly believe God has used those dark moments to bring about a love and compassion for the least among us.

Preaching is something that excites me as part of this, because no only are you working towards helping those in need, but you are encouraging the church to be more like Christ not only in their own lives, but in their families, at work, and amongst each other. In other words, promoting true Christian community and fellowship. Plus, I love talking about God. I love teaching others about God’s word and expressing how the word is still relevant and teaching to us in the 21st century.

So why North Carolina? Amongst the beautiful scenery and rich buildings, there is a lot of brokenness and misappropriate of time and love. Not only is this a place where my heart leaps for joy, but it’s also a place where I see a lot of hurt, just like any other state in the United States, and Western Civilization in general.

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